Microcosmus

Body disease and historical medicine · A Chymical Dictionary

At a Glance

The word. The human being named as a little world.

In the book. Limbus presents the great world as man’s seed and first matter.

A place to read. The historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 33; facsimile PDF page 361.

Historical Definition

Microcosmus is a little world, or man.

Meaning

The definition is an identification through scale. Man is called a little world, not merely a small object placed somewhere in the larger one. This vocabulary enables writers to relate the organisation of human life to the constitution and powers of the surrounding universe. The entry states the correspondence in its briefest form; it does not itself enumerate a full set of bodily and celestial matches.

The two equivalents therefore belong together. Translating the word only as little world would leave its human referent unstated, while replacing it simply with man would conceal the comparison which makes the technical term useful.

Use in the Book

Limbus presents the great world as man’s seed and first matter. Locus vitæ locates the seat of mind or soul, and Olympicus spiritus speaks of a star in man. These entries show different ways in which the human being can be described through a larger account of life and the world.

Places to Read

Limbus. The universal world considered as the human being’s seed and first matter.

Locus vitæ. The place of life understood as the mind’s or soul’s seat.

Olympicus spiritus. An inward star associated with a person’s shadow.

Historical source: 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 33; facsimile PDF page 361 — Facsimile

Sources. A Chymical Dictionary 1650, 1650 dictionary, facsimile PDF page 361, Microcosmus

See also. Limbus; Locus vitæ; Olympicus spiritus